the first part of the trip took us to LA where S and I met the genius who designed and made my beautiful engagement ring so that we could design our wedding rings. the trip was highly successful and very fun, until the part where our jeweler informed me that he needed to keep my engagement ring in order to make sure the wedding ring was a perfect match (cue my gasp of horror). in all seriousness though, it was really weird parting with it. the timing was as good as it could have been since we did so much hiking, but now that we are back in new york i feel like something is missing. i can't wait to get it back. (hint hint) S and I were also lucky to catch up with some friends in LA, do some shopping and site seeing, which included a Pauly Shore sighting, and eat some excellent sushi.
after LA, we flew to albuquerque to begin our mini tour of the southwest (well, part of new mexico and arizona anyway). we spent a night in albuquerque and stayed at the lovely mauger bed and breakfast in downtown albuquerque. while we very much enjoyed this adorable bed and breakfast (and ate a killer breakfast including homemade scones and perfectly cooked bacon), all in all albuquerque was not really worth the trip. we made the most of it by spending some time in olde town and then heading to the zoo. the gorillas and the polar bears were the highlight of the trip.
after albuquerque, we headed to santa fe. i will retire here. preferably, next week after i hit the lottery. this town has character and soul. the people are friendly, the food is fantastic and we stayed at the lovely el dorado hotel in downtown santa fe. s and i took a jog by the (dry) river and marveled at the simple but beautiful houses. i have never felt more relaxed.
we left santa fe and headed for our longest drive - 6 hours to sedona. before we left i wondered why no one responded to my chowhound post looking for notable places to stop along this car ride. now i know why. there is NOTHING there - nothing but a few very sad looking casinos, numerous mcdonalds and the occasional reservation. but then, just when you think it cannot get any more boring, oak canyon comes up and you are absolutely blown away. that 30 minutes of highway (excuse me, freeway) is well worth the six hours of previous torture.
sedona was an adventure itself. we took a spine rattling jeep ride, wandering into a vortex, sat in traffic trying to get to the best meal of the trip, saw ancient native american ruins, heard all sorts of alien conspiracy theories about why this native american tribe disappeared and had a mind blowing massage. pretty good for two days of adventure.
the last day of our trip brought us to phoenix. we accidentally booked a room at a 5 star resort, complete with multiple swimming pools, loads of activities and a spa. so naturally we left this oasis (thanks s) and went in search of the desert botanical garden in downtown phoenix and "america's best pizza." i'll leave the rest of this to the imagination - but suffice it to say there were a lot of catci and one of the best pizzas i have ever tasted.
Pizzeria Bianco - worth the potential 5 hour wait? not so sure. but it was damn good.
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